Different color VFD tubes?

[Mattelec]

After a quick search of nixie tubes in eBay, found an add of a japanese calculator which appear to use orange VFD tubes.

No colour film is over the tubes, so those are quite interesting, maybe some type of filament tubes? Have you ever seen something similar?

Might be some kind of nixie tubes

[David Pye]

They don't look like VFDs to me, there is no obvious grid or heated cathode

Are they not numitrons?

David

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[Per Jensen]

It’s “Eightron”-tubes.

Probably Sanyo SMI-02 or similar.

// Per.

[Nigel Tout]

Hi,

 

They display appears to consist of a type of 7-segment gas-discharge tube.

This type of tube is illustrated at http://vintagecalculators.com/html/calculator_displays.html#ColdCathode (a little down from the link).

 

At first sight they do look like filament tubes.

 

Regards,

Nigel T.

 

From: neoni...@googlegroups.com [mailto:neoni...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of David Pye
Sent: 16 May 2020 11:06
To: neoni...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [neonixie-l] Different color VFD tubes?

 

They don't look like VFDs to me, there is no obvious grid or heated cathode

Are they not numitrons?

 

David

 

On Sat, 16 May 2020, 10:45 Mattelec, <mario.cor...@gmail.com> wrote:

After a quick search of nixie tubes in eBay, found an add of a japanese calculator which appear to use orange VFD tubes.

No colour film is over the tubes, so those are quite interesting, maybe some type of filament tubes? Have you ever seen something similar?

 

Might be some kind of nixie tubes

 

 

 

 

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[Paul Andrews]

I have some tubes like that (J4851). They require an unusually high voltage (though very low current) to light reliably and with any brightness.

[martin martin]

Numitrons are very thin filaments.  I only have one Numi clock.  My guess is filtered VFDs.

~

mcve...@gmail.com

On Sat, May 16, 2020 at 5:15 AM Paul Andrews <pa...@nixies.us> wrote:

I have some tubes like that (J4851). They require an unusually high voltage (though very low current) to light reliably and with any brightness.

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[seaforth23]

[seaforth23]

On Saturday, 16 May 2020 10:45:15 UTC+1, Mattelec wrote:

They look like "Elfin" 7 segment neon didplays. I have a couple of MG-17G tubes of this type. There are some for sale on Ebay - https://www.ebay.com/itm/Nixie-Tube-Elfin-Rodan-MG-17G-Made-in-Japan-6-pcs-Lot-/303307789618.

David

[Mark Moulding]

They're definitely not Numitron (or other filament) tubes.  I use *a lot* of Numitron-type tubes, and these have segments that are too wide (Numitrons are just a filament wide) and too uniform in brightness (even with a filter, Numitrons are brighter in the center, and also the ends tend to be noticeably dimmer).  The illumination profile of these does look a lot like VFDs; especially, notice the decimal point - it's big, round, and uniform.  I wonder if the shielding plate surrounding each of the "filaments" is performing the same function as the screen in a Nixie?

~~
Mark Moulding

On Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 3:05:57 AM UTC-7, David Pye wrote:

They don't look like VFDs to me, there is no obvious grid or heated cathode

Are they not numitrons?

David

On Sat, 16 May 2020, 10:45 Mattelec, <mario.cor...@gmail.com> wrote:

After a quick search of nixie tubes in eBay, found an add of a japanese calculator which appear to use orange VFD tubes.

No colour film is over the tubes, so those are quite interesting, maybe some type of filament tubes? Have you ever seen something similar?

Might be some kind of nixie tubes

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[Paul Andrews]

Nigel has already given you a link that shows this type of tube. They are 7-segment Nixie tubes. Here are pictures of the J4851 that I own.

On Sunday, May 17, 2020 at 2:52:59 PM UTC-4, Mark Moulding wrote:
> They're definitely not Numitron (or other filament) tubes.  I use *a lot* of Numitron-type tubes, and these have segments that are too wide (Numitrons are just a filament wide) and too uniform in brightness (even with a filter, Numitrons are brighter in the center, and also the ends tend to be noticeably dimmer).  The illumination profile of these does look a lot like VFDs; especially, notice the decimal point - it's big, round, and uniform.  I wonder if the shielding plate surrounding each of the "filaments" is performing the same function as the screen in a Nixie?
> ~~
> Mark Moulding
>
>
> On Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 3:05:57 AM UTC-7, David Pye wrote:
> They don't look like VFDs to me, there is no obvious grid or heated cathode
> Are they not numitrons?
>
>
> David
>
>
> On Sat, 16 May 2020, 10:45 Mattelec, <mario.cor...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> After a quick search of nixie tubes in eBay, found an add of a japanese calculator which appear to use orange VFD tubes.
> No colour film is over the tubes, so those are quite interesting, maybe some type of filament tubes? Have you ever seen something similar?
>
>
> Might be some kind of nixie tubes
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>

[J Forbes]

If you load the image at full resolution, you can easily see that each segment is a piece of wire bent into a sort of loop, that sits inside a slot. It's a neon device. The info that it takes a lot of voltage and low current makes sense to me.

Neat display, I had not seen them before.

[J Forbes]

this is a different type of tube. Look close.

[GastonP]

Yes. It looks like those Russian tubes that are neon based with a phosphor screen in front, to glow green.

[seaforth23]

On Saturday, 16 May 2020 10:45:15 UTC+1, Mattelec wrote:

I still think they are the type in my attached pic. The lit version is running at 100V via a 100K resistor. They are often found in old calculators. This one is an Elfin MG-17C.

[Paul Andrews]

:thumbsup:

[Paul Andrews]

I knew I had one somewhere. Elfin MG17G. I don’t think I have ever lit this up. 

On May 20, 2020, at 2:56 PM, Paul Andrews <pa...@nixies.us> wrote:



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[G.G.]

It’s Japanese Elfin , I think it’s a kind of Nixie tube.
Anyway, I got some special color VFD tubes from Russia, they have the shape of IV-3 and IV-6 .I will post some photos if I can find out from the box. There are yellow / red /blue color, I think it’s some experiments.

Lol.

[Bill Notfaded]

Paul is right... I have a bunch of these tubes new and two calculators made with them both Japanese.  One runs on C cell batteries and the other on regular AC.  Both use the exact same tubes.  They are NEON!

Bill

On Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 12:00:03 PM UTC-7, Paul Andrews wrote:

I knew I had one somewhere. Elfin MG17G. I don’t think I have ever lit this up. 

On May 20, 2020, at 2:56 PM, Paul Andrews <pa...@nixies.us> wrote:



:thumbsup:

On Wednesday, May 20, 2020 at 11:46:14 AM UTC-4, seaforth23 wrote:

On Saturday, 16 May 2020 10:45:15 UTC+1, Mattelec wrote:

After a quick search of nixie tubes in eBay, found an add of a japanese calculator which appear to use orange VFD tubes.

No colour film is over the tubes, so those are quite interesting, maybe some type of filament tubes? Have you ever seen something similar?

Might be some kind of nixie tubes

I still think they are the type in my attached pic. The lit version is running at 100V via a 100K resistor. They are often found in old calculators. This one is an Elfin MG-17C.

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[Bill Notfaded]

I'll post some pics when I get home if I remember...

[Terry Kennedy]

On Thursday, July 16, 2020 at 12:27:32 PM UTC-4, Bill Notfaded wrote:

I'll post some pics when I get home if I remember...

I have some large Soviet VFD panels which are allegedly intended for a submarine - parts of the display look like ballast tanks. But they could also be separator drums from a later RBMK type reactor cooling system. Most of the panel lights up in the normal blue-green VFD color, but some parts are yellowish orange and some parts are red. I can dig out a picture later if people want to see it. And of course there are the tricolor pixel matrix displays, although the VFD ones do a pretty bad job of emulating RGB. There were some thyratron-well displays that excited phosphors that did a much better job of RGB, but they ran on higher voltages (and more of them) than Nixie tubes.

[Alex]

These would be interesting to see...

[Mac Doktor]

On Jul 17, 2020, at 4:25 AM, Terry Kennedy <terry-...@glaver.org> wrote:

I have some large Soviet VFD panels which are allegedly intended for a submarine - parts of the display look like ballast tanks. But they could also be separator drums from a later RBMK type reactor cooling system. Most of the panel lights up in the normal blue-green VFD color, but some parts are yellowish orange and some parts are red. I can dig out a picture later if people want to see it. And of course there are the tricolor pixel matrix displays, although the VFD ones do a pretty bad job of emulating RGB. There were some thyratron-well displays that excited phosphors that did a much better job of RGB, but they ran on higher voltages (and more of them) than Nixie tubes.

I used to own a JVC KD-V35 cassette tape deck. The level meters and spectrum analyzer are blue-green and red:

https://www.cassettedeck.org/jvc/kd-v35

Note the third level meter in between the left and right peak level meters. IIRC, it was was weighted in some way, possible RMS or something imitating the ballistics of a true VU meter.

After I had a number of problems with it the dealer replaced it with a newer model, the KD-V400:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANeTJtokq9I

They switched to backlit LCDs which were much slower to respond. OTOH, the 400 was actuated entirely by motors instead of solenoids and had a number of improved features.

I have two of them sitting here along with the old boombox that sat in the back seat of my stereo-less car(s). Too many memories of too much great music to get rid of that one even though the piano keys have become so brittle that they snap off if pushed.

Terry Bowman, KA4HJH
"The Mac Doctor"

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe: attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... beams...in the dark in the Tannhauser Gate. All those moments will be lost in time...like tears in the rain." — Roy Batty, Blade Runner